A longitudinal, qualitative research study is planned to describe parents' views of bioethical decision making in newborn care. This phase (III) will provide an additional comparative marker to document the evolution of the families' perceptions of the ethical dimension of care. Increased understanding of parental perceptions of bioethical decision making for their high-risk newborn is pivotal to future planning, anticipatory guidance, and the provision of holistic services for families. Ethical debate abounds in the literature relative to treatment decisions for the high-risk neonate in the intensive care nursery. A systematic examination of the parents' perspective is missing. This study will fill the existing gap. A cohort of 32 parents of high-risk newborns showed that families perceived little, active involvement in ethical decision-making prior to discharge but a general acceptance of this role (Phase I). The six-month post-discharge interviews indicate some changes in the parents' ethical perspective related to the care and treatment of their high-risk newborn (Phase II). In contrast to the predischarge interview, the parents' perceptions are no longer detached or disconnected ones. Another post-discharge interview is planned for Phase III and will be carried out over a one-year period. A phenomenological approach will be used with families to identify and explore the moral dimensions of clinical decision-making for their children in an open-ended taped interview. Thematic analysis of the coded data will occur concurrently with interviewing and include both static and phase processes. Reliability and validity strategies will be applied. Results will include both a description of the current perception of the bioethical decision-making and a comparison of these views to past findings. This descriptive study with its inherent limitations, will provide however, the beginning knowledge base upon which assessment and intervention projects can later be developed.